Karr got its first score on a seven-play, 72-yard drive as Leonard Kelly found Khalfani Simmons on a 20-yard touchdown reception. Minden, however, took the ensuing kickoff down to the Karr 21 thanks to a 57-yard return by senior returner Jacareon Lathan. Eight plays later, Gavin Jackson nailed a 32-yard field goal for the Crimson Tide, making it just a 6-3 Karr advantage. Minden got the ball back and confused the Cougars early utilizing the triple-option attack. On its second drive, the option worked to perfection and Seth Johnson got the ball on a misdirection and galloped to a 29-yard touchdown for a competitive 14-10 score at the end of the first.

Karr took control in the second quarter as the defense forced three punts and finally figured out how to defend the Crimson Tide triple-option. Kelly and the Cougars' offense executed as he found Larry Junior and Destyn Pazon on scoring catches of 45 and 8 yards, respectively. Kelly's final pass to Pazon was a third-and-goal where Pazon had to dive pass a Minden defender to make an exceptional touchdown grab and add to the tally as the Cougars led 27-10 at halftime.

Following the break, the Karr defense continued to shine. Having already weathered the early momentum Minden had achieved by running the triple-option, Karr had five tackles for loss and three sacks in the third quarter, flustering the visiting Crimson Tide offense, which was forced out of its comfort zone having to pass the football.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Leonard Kelly, QB, Karr

The junior signal-caller once again was the catalyst for a pass-happy Cougars offense as he finished 17-of-22 for 228 yards and five touchdowns. The windy and soggy weather was of no consequence to Kelly as he made several deep throws with great accuracy. One pass in particular showed off his arm talent as he threw a ball so high it got lost in the lights on third-and-17 from inside the Karr 35. The pass hung in the air and, as if it was dropped via aerial drone, landed perfectly into hands of Cougars' receiver Dony'e Brooks, who hauled it in to convert the first down on the left sidelines. Kelly completed passes to nine Karr players.

Records: Karr 11-0; Minden 3-8

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Karr |14 | 13 | 0 | 7 - 34

Minden |10 | 0 | 0 | 0 - 10

NOTABLE

This was the first meeting between the schools.

Karr is the defending Class 4A champion and is looking for its third consecutive state title.

Minden has won five state titles, with the last coming in 1980

HE SAID IT

Karr's Leonard Kelly on the win: "It's a big victory but it's not over yet. It's just the first round, so we have to comeback next week and prepare for next week. Those five touchdowns wouldn't have happened without the offensive line. We had to fix the small things and that's what the coaches told us at halftime. We knew we had to come out here and fight and we couldn't let them score anymore."

Karr WR Larry Junior on his two touchdown catches from Kelly: "Kelly threw me some beautiful passes tonight and I just thanked him for the beautiful throws. The receiving core has so much chemistry and we work so much on those deep passes at practice. We just compete so much against each other and try to take each other's spot (on the depth chart). We still have a lot more to work on, but things went well for us tonight."

Minden RB Jakobe Greenard on the loss: "Early on I felt like we had a chance getting it to 14-10 in the first quarter but then some bad things happened. I mean we had them on their heels but we started to make mistakes. We stopped calling the right plays, we didn't block good enough and they took advantage. We came out here looking for respect. We knew they were the top seed, but I believe we got their respect. We expected to win tonight, but we also understood that it's tough against the top seed."